Assuming the Seller's 3% Mortgage: How FHA, VA, and USDA Loan Assumptions Work in 2026
FHA, VA and USDA mortgages can be assumed at the seller's 3% rate while new loans cost 6.76%; the catch is the equity gap due at closing.
#real-estate
Real Estate
Real estate accounting, property tracking, and investment management
The Backyard Cottage P&L: What an ADU Really Costs, Earns, and Does to Your Taxes
ADU rental income goes on IRS Schedule E: split shared costs by square footage, depreciate the unit over 27.5 years, and plan for 25% recapture tax at sale.
Canada's Capital Gains Inclusion Rate Is Still One-Half: Selling a Business or Rental in 2026
Canada cancelled the two-thirds capital gains inclusion rate on March 21, 2025, but kept the $1.25M lifetime exemption — roughly $1,275,000 indexed for 2026. Here are the QSBC tests, CCA recapture, and 45(2)/45(3) elections that decide your bill.
You Own the Land but Not the Minerals: How Lease Bonuses, Royalties, and Depletion Are Taxed
Oil and gas lease bonuses, delay rentals, and royalties are all ordinary income reported on Schedule E — but royalties qualify for 15% percentage depletion that can continue after your basis hits zero. How each payment is taxed, where it goes on your return, and the state traps to avoid.
Security Deposits vs. Advance Rent: What Landlords Owe Tax On
Advance rent is taxable the year you receive it; a refundable security deposit is not income until you keep it. The split, the state escrow and interest rules underneath it, and the journal entries that keep both straight.
Buying on Contract? How a Contract for Deed Works — and the Federal Protections Most Buyers Never Hear About
In a contract for deed, the seller keeps legal title until your last payment while you pay the taxes, insurance, and repairs. Since the CFPB's 2024 advisory opinion, covered sellers must assess ability to repay, disclose the APR, and face limits on balloon payments.
Mortgage Points and Origination Fees on Rental and Business Property: What to Amortize, and the Same-Lender Refinance Trap
Points on rental and business property are prepaid interest that must be amortized per scheduled payment, not per year — $4,800 on a 20-year loan is $20 a payment, so a 3-payment first year deducts $60. Refinancing with the same lender blocks the write-off of leftover points and rolls them into the new loan's term.
Scotland's Small Business Bonus Scheme in 2026: Transitional Relief and Short-Term-Let Rules
Scotland's 2026 revaluation pushed almost 4,000 small firms off 100% Small Business Bonus Scheme relief while thresholds stayed frozen at £12,000. Here are the 2026-27 SBBS bands, the three transitional caps (15% general, 25% net for lost SBBS, 15% self-catering), and the short-term-let licence rules that void relief entirely.
Subletting Extra Office Space? Why You Stay Liable on the Master Lease (and How to Book the Income Right)
Subletting unused office space leaves you fully liable on the master lease while making you a landlord to your subtenant — why written landlord consent comes first, how to book sublease income separately from rent expense, and how advance rent, security deposits, and CAM pass-throughs are taxed.
Passing Your House to Your Kids Without Probate: How Transfer-on-Death and Lady Bird Deeds Work
A transfer-on-death deed names a beneficiary for your house the way you would for a bank account — recorded now, revocable any time, effective only at death. More than 30 states plus DC authorize one; Florida and Michigan use the Lady Bird (enhanced life estate) deed instead. Here is what each does, how to record one correctly, and the filing errors that send families back into a 9-to-18-month probate.
Section 1234A and Termination Payments: Why a Forfeited Deposit or Canceled Purchase Option Gets Capital, Not Ordinary, Treatment
Section 1234A treats gain or loss from the cancellation, lapse, or termination of a right in capital-asset property as capital — so a forfeited earnest-money deposit is usually a short-term capital loss, a lapsed option premium is short-term capital gain, and a merger break fee is a capital loss capped at $3,000 of ordinary income per year for individuals. Services contracts, Section 1231 business property, and debt retirements fall outside the statute and stay ordinary.
Austin's New STR Rules Put Your Listing on a 10-Day Clock: A Host's Compliance and Bookkeeping Guide
Since July 1, 2026, Airbnb and Vrbo must verify Austin STR license numbers, refuse unlicensed bookings, and remove flagged listings within 10 days of city notice, with fines up to $500 per day. Here are the license costs ($836.30 new, $385.30 renewal, two-year term), the 17% occupancy-tax stack, the quarterly filings platform collection does not cover, and the per-property books that keep it provable.